On Feb. 15, hundreds of students from our region will gather here in Marion as part of the Indiana Music Education Association’s 36th annual Circle the State with Song festival.

Almost 260 talented young singers from elementaries, middle schools, and junior high schools in Adams, Grant, Huntington, Kosciusko, Wabash, Wells, and Whitley counties will spend the day working with guest clinicians — a chance to build their skill as singers — and then will put on a special performance together. 

This concert will start at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 15 on the main stage at the Walton Performing Arts Center at Marion High School, 750 W. 26th St.; it is open to the public, and tickets are $5 (free for ages 5 and younger). Tickets are available at the door starting at 3 p.m. Feb. 15 (half an hour before the show), and will be available online at this site soon: https://circlethestate.imeamusic.org/middle-school. (Tickets purchased online must be presented for admission.) 

The festival, which is held at several different sites around the state, exposes young singers to new music and gives them the chance to have a choral experience quite different from the regular school class or performance. Altogether, about 5,000 students around the state typically participate in this annual festival series. 

Elementaries participating in the Walton Center performance include Akron, Allen, Bluffton Harrison, Frances Slocum, Justice Intermediate, Kendall, Manchester Intermediate, Northview, Riverview, South Adams, and St. Paul Catholic School, and middle schools/junior highs participating include Elwood Junior-Senior High, Manchester Junior-Senior High, McCulloch Junior High, RJ Baskett Middle, South Adams Middle, St. Paul Catholic, and Tippecanoe Valley Middle. 

After weeks of practice on their own and at their schools, students will spend most of the day Feb. 15 rehearsing the concert selections with a guest clinician at Marion High School. At our region’s festival, the middle school clinician is Tavis Schlicker, director of the Fort Wayne Children’s Choir, and the elementary clinician is Leeann Starkey, with the Indianapolis Children's Choir. 

Circle the State with Song began in 1989 as a choral festival for elementary students. In 1991 it expanded to middle school and junior high students. Not only does it provide students the chance to sing challenging choral pieces with peers from around the area, it also provides music teachers an opportunity to observe and learn from the clinicians, and to network with colleagues from around the area.

IMEA’s mission is to support and advance music education in Indiana by representing the united interest of music educators and students and by providing professional leadership and service in music education to enhance the arts in the schools.

Marion students who will be participating in this year’s Circle the State With Song festival are:

Allen Elementary:

• Davetta Brown
• Leilani Dellinger-Woods
• Daylinn Persnger
• Baisley Shildmeyer
• Nic'Kari Taylor
• Demaj Wise-Smith

Frances Slocum Elementary:

• Olivia Boyd
• Aaliyah Lewis Jones
• Jaelynn Ploger
• Carlie Walters
• Sirayna Washington
• Malaya Williams 

Kendall Elementary:

• Isabella Antinio Maya
• Jeslin Peduga
• Chloe Rayment
• Delilah Skeens

Riverview Elementary:

• Delila Bailey
• Naomi Bell
• Mackenzie Christie
• Destanee Coffey
• Cooper Hamilton
• Royal Jackson
• Rapha Jackson
• Rozetta Kierstead
• Gabriella Manzo

Justice Intermediate School:

• Melissa Carpenter
• Leland Craig
• Aubrey Dear
• Brooklyn Boogar
• CJ Jordan
• Keyly Lechuga
• Lily McComas
• Amayah Morales-Tenorio
• Ryleigh Ortega
• Addison Phillips
• Kennedy Polsley
• Hannah Reeves
• Navi Rittenhouse
• Elenor Runyan
• Jasmine Sanchez
• Eliana Tetactle

McCulloch Junior High School:

Sopranos

• Laurynn Anderson
• Aubriella Cruz
• Cymaura Dorsey
• Myla Dunston
• Emily Geren
• Leyna Greenwood
• Cecilia Hancock
• Addison Hickman
• Alyssa Miller
• Penelope Myers
• Halo Riddle
• Melanie Rodriquez
• Annibelle Ward
• Aleah Weaver

Altos

• Caleigh Bobson
• Linlee Greenwood
• Amayah Habegger
• Janay Hardwick
• Emma Hoose
• Molly Larson
• Audrie Mendoza
• Kyletta Neal
• Jecca Paduga
• Elisabella Ramirez
• Kayliana Rogers
• Chloe Smith
• Skai Terry
• Rowyn Trout

Baritones

• Miles Contreras
• Antonio Cruz
• Jakiem Jackson
• Chrishon Lenoir
• Javier Lester
• Justice Sweat
• Judah Trout
• Micah Wayman